1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hand tools, and more particularly to hand tools with pivoting jaws for extracting nails.
2. Description of Related Art
Fasteners such as nails are commonly used to fasten objects to materials such as wood. Finish nails and brads are generally relatively small, thin nails with small heads at one end. Finish nails and brads are typically used in lighter applications where appearance is important.
The common hammer is often used to drive nails into materials such as wood. A typical hammer has a head attached to one end of a handle. The head of the hammer has a flat face on one side for striking nails, and a pair of claws on an opposite side for removing nails. However, powered nail guns are increasingly being used instead of hammers, especially by professional installers, and a typical nail gun does not have features for removing nails. Further, the claws of most hammers do not grip heads of finish nails and brads well. Further still, the heads of finish nails and brads are typically driven slightly below surface levels of materials being attached so the fasteners are less visible. In order to extract such fasteners (e.g., using the claws of a hammer), the heads must first be raised above the surface levels.
The current state of the art is disclosed in Foley, U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,560 B2, which teaches a nail-pulling tool that has a two-piece proximal handle pivotally joined with a two-piece distal jaw by a pivoting means. The distal jaw is operated like a standard hand tool with compression of the handle causing the jaw to close, and vice-versa. The distal jaw has an elliptical surface so that with the distal jaw resting on a work surface and closed about a nail protruding from the work surface, and with the handle laying adjacent the work surface, raising the handle away from the work surface in an arc, causes the nail to be pulled from the work surface at an ever increasing rate. Axially oriented jaw teeth provide improved gripping and a pair of tongue and groove opposing surfaces enable cutting and further improved gripping. A hammer surface enables driving of a nail into the work surface rather than pulling it out, and a claw element enables pulling a nail head up so as to be better gripped by the tool. The tool is ideally designed for pulling a bent nail partially upward, straightening it, and then hammering it back into the surface in a more correct and improved manner for accomplishing its fastening task.
It would be beneficial to have a hand tool specially adapted to extract a fastener from a material. Such a hand tool would ideally be capable of easily accessing a fastener having a head located below a surface level of a material.